He had high hopes of turning this dream into reality when he got admission to the St. Augustine's College in Cape Coast for his secondary school.

His hopes, however, where shattered when he suddenly became an orphan at age of 14.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Mirror newspaper, Ocran, the CEO of YOKs Investments Limited, detailed how he managed to overcome adversity and turn his life around from the despair and emptiness of being a trotro mate to the joy and fulfillment of owning YOKs-Rent a Car, a multi-million dollar car rental business that owned over 60 luxurious cars as at the time of the interview.

His mother, a kenkey seller, died suddenly when he was in the first year of secondary school.

This, he said, adversely affected his father, who was left alone to cater for 22 children.

Ocran's father, who was a civil servant, died when he was in the second year of secondary, forcing him to drop out of school and become a trotro mate (bus conductor) in order to survive.

A struggle with life

With his extended family too poor to assist him, Ocran worked as a mate for two years, sweating and toiling day and night.

After two years of hard work with nothing to show for it, he decided to change course.

He had managed to learn a bit of driving as a mate, so he sought employment at the Department of Urban Roads as a labourer.

His plan was to work until he was 18 and gain promotion to become a driver with a valid driving licence.

After two years of toiling, he turned 18 and got a driver's licence, but that did nothing to improve his well-being, as he continued to work as a labourer.

After a while, he realised his future at the department was bleak, because even his boss, who was the foreman of the labourers, was struggling to make ends meet.

He subsequently quit the job and became unemployed for some time.

Seth Ocran and Children

Later, with the help of friends, he ventured into business. He was importing goods from Togo and supplying to people at Makola.

He, however, lost his capital when the Makola market in Accra got burnt.

According to him, many people affected by the fire owed him and could not pay back.

He managed to invest in several other business that eventually ended up failing.

Ocran eventually went to work for VANEF Europcar in 1996.

He worked there for four years, performing roles such as driver, night supervisor and sales representative.

Breakthrough

Ocran's breakthrough came when a Canadian woman, Ms. Louise Griener, a Carl Bro. International (DANIDA) consultant to the Ghana Highway Authority, who was supervising a road contract in the country, approached VANEF to rent a car.

The woman said she wanted a driver who could double as an office boy.

Ocran's bosses quickly recommended him to her because he was considered an "all-rounder" who could perform multiple roles.